Board Minutes 2023-02-22

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][alg_back_button][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]JGSPBC BOARD MEETING MINUTES

WEDNESDAY, February 22, 2023

 

PRESENT: Beryl Cole, John Cole, Eric Sharenow, Ina Getzoff, Cindy Potter Taylor, Barbara Nowak, Larry Schulman, Judy Gelpey, Mark Jacobson, Dennis Rice, Walter Rosenthal, Andy Wakshul, Mark Glickman

 

ABSENT: Lori Schindelman, Neil Bass, Mona Morris, Allan Huss, Glenn Segal, Marilyn Lane, Joel Sisitsky

 

The meeting was called to order by President Beryl Cole at 1:01 PM on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. A quorum was present to conduct business, and an election was held to appoint a new Treasurer of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County. Mark W. Glickman, CFRE, of 21080 Shady Vista Lane, Boca Raton, FL 33428, 561-251-0540, was duly elected as treasurer of our association.

 

Judy Gelpey made a motion to approve the January Board minutes and Dennis seconded. Mark Glickman abstained. Motion passed.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT:

Larry first read from the by-laws, section 4:

 

The Treasurer shall be the custodian of the funds of the JGSPBCI, shall deposit them in insured financial institutions or invest them pursuant to policy established by the Board of Directors, shall pay all bills and shall be responsible for collection of dues and any debts owed to the JGSPBCI. The Treasurer shall keep all financial records in a digital accounting program, such as Quicken or any equivalent compatible bookkeeping program, as approved by the Board of Directors; such digital records shall be sent to a “cloud” based storage facility available to Board members.

 

Larry then stated that a checkbook system must be digital in the Cloud and that the core of our financial management system is how we keep the checkbooks:

 

-compatible with and able to import information from Pay Pal
-how we record checks and cash
-ability to produce reports for follow-up actions
-dues information
-information easily passed so we can note guests who attend
-donation information easily passed on to the President
-ease in preparing paid membership lists
-ease in creating reports to the Board
-coordination with adopted budget
-easy access to invoices, expenditures, etc.

 

The checkbook management is thus an important element that enables the Treasurer to do his/her work.

 

Larry Schulman then presented the January 2023 Financial Report. Everything is in balance as of 1/31/2023. The Operating Account has a balance of $28,036 and the Reserve has a balance of $12,315. We brought in less than we paid out. Bank statements are reconciled. Dues were paid to IAJGS on January 30th in the amount of $103. This was based on 206 members and we are down approximately 100 members from the pre-pandemic. Larry noted that Lifetime Reserves is shrinking and he will discuss with Mark. Dennis made a motion to approve the Financial Report and Ida seconded. Mark Glickman abstained. Motion passed.

 

The President shall appoint a chairperson to head the Budget Committee. The Treasurer shall serve on the Budget Committee, which shall prepare an annual budget for submission to the Board of Directors at its March meeting. The proposed budget will be voted on at the April Board of Directors meeting.

 

Larry pointed out that the Budget Committee must be organized immediately in order to present the budget in March. Dennis agreed to serve on the Committee but not serve as Chair. The Committee at this point consists of Larry, Mark and Dennis. Beryl will need to appoint a Chair. Larry also reminded everyone that after March 1st, new members who join have a courtesy membership for next year.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

MEMBERSHIP VP – Joel Sisitsky:

In Joel’s absence, Larry reported that there are currently 219 active members. There are 155 Annual Members representing 127 memberships and 64 Life Members representing 55 memberships. We now have 182 memberships.

 

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES VP – ERIC SHARENOW:

Eric reported that he and Ina have been going over the manual, called the Policies & Operating Procedures Manual by other JGS groups. The committee is meeting and the review is a monumental task so will take some time. They are dealing with the issue of the number of times guests can attend meetings. There are unresolved issues on how we view guests and what we expect from them.

 

Ina is reviewing previous minutes and will note dates when a policy was created. We must know when a certain policy was approved. Another committee meeting will be held on March 14th. Committee members should include anyone who is associated with guests and policies such as Larry.

 

Walter feels that guests are a valuable resource and should be pursued aggressively. They are our richest source of new members. Barbara Nowak said that someone on the Membership Committee should interface with new guests. Cindy said that Larry and Joel always greet guests at the meetings.

 

EDUCATION – Eric Sharenow:

Eric announced that 31 people attended the tagging workshop and he has received positive comments. Walter and others said that 31 is a great number for a workshop and workshops should occur on a regular basis using our Board expertise.

 

Eric is trying to determine a way of adding an educational component for our members. Not many people are approaching Eric to give a workshop. While Eric is planning another workshop, possibly on information to be gleaned from gravestones, he pointed out that we need people to come forward to present educational programs. Perhaps we can research programs by other Jewish Genealogical Societies.

 

Ina said that some people don’t feel comfortable presenting in front of a group. John said with people who are uncomfortable speaking in front of a group, he can record their presentation. Barbara said that we must also distinguish between our monthly meetings and educational programs vs. what’s being done in the library which she realizes is more a one-on-one session.

 

Eric would like to hear from more people that they have a special interest or skill and we need to do a better job of identifying these special skills of our members. Beryl may be able to present a program on family reunions and Judy mentioned finding relatives through social media. Barbara would like to have a workshop on building a family web page. Mark Glickman feels that people want information on the basics, such as how to find and interpret ship manifests, etc. Dennis replied that our philosophy was always to teach basics but we should also teach about other resources. Barbara feels our Board members are asked to do too much; that is why we have to go to our general members.

 

Judy expressed that many people don’t realize that their stories may be a topic of interest to others. The success stories could be presented at the SOS meeting.

 

Eric also pointed out that we should have evaluation forms following a program. He said that perhaps he needs to contact people who attended to see if they have done any tagging. For those who did, perhaps a follow up workshop would be useful to see what they did. Larry feels it would be helpful to know who has done tagging since the workshop. Larry also pointed out small groups with a hands-on approach are most effective for some presentations. People could bring their laptops to the library and actually follow along with the speaker on a step-by-step basis.

 

Ina said we haven’t used evaluation forms since our symposiums. John said that through Constant Contact, he could send an email blast asking people for workshop ideas. John also suggested asking members who we personally know to present a workshop.

 

PROGRAMMING – Allan Huss:

Judy Gelpey read Allan’s report. He said that the Programming Committee met on February 14, 2023. The Board is asked to discuss whether it would be worthwhile to serve coffee and possibly a light snack such as cookies to those attending general membership meetings.

 

Programs scheduled thus far for the next season are:

 

September, 2023 – speaker from the Palm Beach Genealogical Society – Cindy Potter Taylor is coordinating

 

October, 2023 – Dr. Rebecca Kobrin, Ph.D. – Professor of History at Columbia University will speak on Sender Jarmulowski. For the CV of Dr. Kobrin – https://www.iijs.columbia.edu/rebecca-kobrin.

 

For more information on Sender Jarmulowski:
https://www.eldridgestreet.org/history/sender-jarmulowsky-a-synagogue-founders-story/

 

November, 2023 – Allan Huss will speak on “Why Our Ancestors Ended Up Where They Did”

 

December, 2023 – Presentation by Chuck Weinstein

 

Guests being considered for 2024 include Rhoda Miller and Mona Morris & Mark Jacobson collaborating on a program.

 

Scattered Seeds is on the website and the next issue will be after Passover in April.

 

Work on the coordination with the JGS of Toronto is ongoing but not resolved.

 

MEDIA PUBLICITY – Walter Rosenthal:

Walter reported that each month, prior to the general meeting, notices are emailed to various distribution outlets such as JewishGen.org and iajgs.org. Notices are sent about a month before the meeting and one week before. The releases include dates, topics and speaker bios. At the February meeting, there were more than a dozen qualified guests, a record number. Each paid $5, were sent a Zoom link prior to the meeting and a welcome note was sent soon after.

 

The only unknown is if the guests who paid actually show up at the meeting. We try to monitor the guests coming in to a meeting but occasionally, we lose track.

 

Mark Glickman suggested a larger email list, so in the future, all guests will receive our emails. Our email blast list should be 400-500 members. John explained that as of now, only active members receive emails but he will research a way for guests to receive them.

 

Judy suggested leaving flyers promoting JGSPBC and membership information to all Synagogues and the JCC’s in Palm Beach County in late August prior to the High Holidays when many people are in the Synagogues. Judy offered to drive around distributing them. Walter has a handout that will be reviewed.

 

Introductions:

Beryl introduced Mark Glickman as our new Treasurer. John made a motion to appoint Mark Glickman as our new Treasurer and Larry seconded. Motion passed.

 

Eric suggested keeping Larry on the Board. Cindy feels Larry should stay on the Board but not be Assistant Treasurer. Larry would agree to an ad-hoc position, working on the transition to the new Treasurer. Dennis moved to appoint Larry Shulman as a Board member and Cindy seconded. Motion passed. Dennis made a motion to remove Sheila Fechter as Assistant Treasurer and Larry seconded. Motion passed.

 

Mark Glickman posed some questions. He encourages people to look at Guidestar which has all the tax returns of non-profit organizations. He said it looks like we haven’t filed since 2003. The tax ID number is used for the State of Florida to register for Sunbiz and it’s posted on our website. In 2000, we became part of IAJGS, a subsidiary and they have a different tax number. Mark will need to call Doug Cohen with IAJGS to discuss. The question is how are we filing. Each year Larry has filed a one page tax return to the State of Florida. We should be filing a Form 990. Mark feels we can’t have a Tax ID number on our website that isn’t being used. Mark wants to know the transition process from the past to current Treasurer. For example, signature cards must be changed. Mark needs the checkbooks and key to the mailbox.

 

SPEAKERS BUREAU: Walter Rosenthal

Walter reported that Dennis’ presentation to the Boca Beth Ami Congregation on January 30th was a success. It was very well received and Walter attended with Dennis and handed out JGSPBC information. They paid the $125 speaker fee.

 

Walter received an inquiry from Palm Isles Hadassah about providing a speaker later in the year. He said the source of her request was the ad in the community’s newsletter. Information about JGSPBC, including a contract, were mailed out immediately.

 

INTERNAL PUBLICITY – Marilyn Lane:

No report was given.

 

LIBRARY – Barbara Nowak & Cindy Potter Taylor:

The library is up and running on Mondays and Thursdays from 11:30-2:30 by appointment only. There have been two major “success” outcomes from people doing research and one more to come. Appointments are now being scheduled for March. Barbara noted that some bills are now coming in for the library and she will send them to Larry with the reimbursement form.

 

RECEPTION – Glenn Segal:

Due to Glenn’s absence, Walter included Glenn’s report when he gave his report.

 

IT TECHNOLOGY – John Cole:

A great article was posted on our website on how South Florida became one of the largest Jewish communities in the world.

 

Based on Eric’s recommendation for a Site map, John used Power Point to create a basic site map on our website. Under Administration, all Zoom meetings are posted, financials are posted and there is a plug-in called events that shows committee meetings which are always on Tuesdays at 10:30 am. There is a form that committee chairs can fill out and then it is posted with John’s assistance. Documentation includes tax information and bylaws that all members can view. Donations should be promoted. John is working with Host Gator to correct error messages.

 

OLD BUSINESS:

INDEMNIFICATION INSURANCE: Allan sent something about the insurance but it was emailed too late to review and will be discussed next month. Ina said it appears that the policy covers only someone to represent us but not pay damages. Can we as a group be responsible if someone sues us? This will be discussed at the March Board Meeting when Allan returns.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

Tote bags: Cindy said that there are approximately 150 tote bags left and that perhaps we could sell them at meetings for $5. A motion was made by Mark Glickman to sell the bags but later withdrawn. John made a new motion to give away the bags at no charge and Ina seconded. Motion passed.

 

Lanyards – Cindy said that lanyards are needed but since the cost is low, no motion was needed.

 

Tribute cards – Beryl prepared three cards – In memory of, In honor of and Thank you cards. She presented them with a background of yellow, white and gray. The Board voted for the white card. The Tribute Card program should be promoted on the website, in emails once a month and at meetings.

 

Limiting # of times guests can attend meetings – Walter said the committee is still discussing and will make recommendations to the Board.

 

Charging for Workshops – since Mona was not at the meeting, this will be discussed at a future Board meeting.

 

Mark Glickman proposed that we do away with Life Memberships, that most organizations around the country are doing so. Current Life Members will be grandfathered in. Larry seconded the motion. A discussion was held questioning if the bylaws need to be changed but it was determined that Life Membership is not mentioned in the bylaws. Motion passed. John will make changes on the website.

 

Motion was made for adjournment and the meeting was adjourned at 2:50 PM. The next monthly meeting with guest speaker Ken Cutler is on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 and the next Board meeting is on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Judy Gelpey, Secretary, JGSPBC[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]